EBay says client information stolen in hacking attack

May 21 - EBay issues a notice on its websites asking users to change their passwords after discovering that a cyber attack compromised customer data earlier this year. Vanessa Johnston reports.

▲ Hide Transcript

▶ View Transcript

EBay is urging 145 million users of its online commerce platform to change their passwords after a cyber attack compromised customer data.
The company said on Wednesday that hackers stole non-financial information, such as email addresses, encrypted passwords, and birth dates between late February and early March.
An eBay spokesperson said a large number of accounts may have been compromised, but declined to say how many.
Julia Horwitz is consumer protection counsel at the nonprofit Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, DC.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) JULIA HORWITZ, CONSUMER PROTECTION COUNSEL AT ELECTRONIC PRIVACY INFORMATION CENTER, SAYING:
"I think, unfortunately, I wasn't all that surprised to see there had been another data breach. Over the past year, we've heard a lot about internet firms having their databases breached."
She says eBay needs to adopt stronger methods to protect data.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) JULIA HORWITZ, CONSUMER PROTECTION COUNSEL AT ELECTRONIC PRIVACY INFORMATION CENTER, SAYING:
"Changing your password is helpful a couple of times, I think, but after a while you run out of variations on your pet's name, so I think that after that the burden really shifts back to the companies and to Congress to make sure all the appropriate protections are in place."
EBay said its investigation of the breach is ongoing, with assistance from law enforcement.
The company said it found no evidence that its PayPal online payment service had been breached.

Featured Videos

Reuters visual journalists are renowned for preserving integrity, independence and freedom from bias when capturing events that shape the world in which we live. Hear from Zohra Bensemra, Natalie Thomas and Antonio Denti on what it means to be Reuters a visual journalist

University of York scientists say 850 million tonnes of carbon dioxide could be mineralised each year by combining sea water, graphite, solar-powered electricity, and scrap metal in a purpose-built reactor

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest international multimedia news provider reaching more than one billion people every day. Reuters provides trusted business, financial, national, and international news to professionals via Thomson Reuters desktops, the world's media organizations, and directly to consumers at Reuters.com and via Reuters TV. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products: